Saturday, 27 December 2014

Wow !! How time flies and its already the end of another year ( 2014 ). I was at Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang ( Phoenix ) Ancient village during the middle of November along with my sis and two cousins. Besides this, we traveled to some scenic spots in the Changsa area along one of China's Largest fresh water lake ... Dongting Lake in Hunan. This was my last oversea trip for the year and I must say that its by far the best and most memorable trip I ever had in 2014.

I shall , as usual do most of it in Pictures and this time around in Four Parts. Instead of using my Sony A57, I decided to borrow a EM-5 and a 12-50 standards kit lens for my travel to Avatar Mountains. The main reason was that I have to do a lot of Trekking and Mountain climbing in the Zhangjiajie ( Avatar ) Mountains. The other reason being the weather , which were cold and humid during the last days of Autumn and Winter was setting in.

Well, it has been a record setting year for me, as I travel and covered more miles then I could ever imagine !! My total Air Kilometers is a Whooping !! .... 35,800 km. That includes my 2 round trips to China ( Hainan & Hunan ), 1 round trip to Englandand my maiden voyage to Sabah. Not counting my numerous trip to Malacca, K.L. , East coast and Singapore. That would bring my travels nearer to around the Circumference of Mother Earth ... 40,075 km.I for one could never have imagine in my Astrological Stars that this was going to happened in the year of the Horse. Next Year ( Year of The Goat ), which is also my Chinese zodiac sign will most likely see a more homely me, with more relaxing and things that are nearer to Nature ... Chill Out !!

No more rumblings just pics from my travel to Hunan , China. Done in Four Parts @ Zhangjiajie @ Fenghuang ( Phoenix Ancient Town ) @ Changsa and Finally The Folks of this places. I took a total of more than 1,000 pics of which 700+ were from the EM-5 and the rest my iPhone 4s....Phew !! Imagine having to sort out the pics into sections and picking around 100+ for my post is a daunting task . Have fun and simply enjoy the pictures I have for you ... Thanks !!

The Journey Begins as with all long distance travel ... The Flight itself .

Part one ... The Spectacular and Awesome Zhangjiajie Scenic Park ( Home and Inspiration for the AVATAR movie ) .

The Main Entrance into the Spectacular Zhangjiajie Mountains ...!!

And a pic of yours truly on top of a fiberglass Avatar Bird.

The Rest of The Spectacular Sceneries .... !! This Four below were done in '' Dramatic Tone '' Mode.

This below were taken on the Third day stay on top of the Mountains. Had to wake up early ( 5.00 am ) and wait for the right lighting from the sun. It normally last for about an hour and then its gone ...!! All Four pics here were converted to '' Provia '' colours for a Blueish Pink look. Done with some Chinese Calligraphy and my Seal for a Chinese Art Feel.

This Two were PPied in Water Colour and Chinese Art Mode.

A Mixed of the rest from the Park itself ... !!

Finally Four pics done in Out of the ordinary effects ... From Curves, Hdr and Infrared.

Now for the Beautiful and Magnificent Fenghuang Ancient village. The Village isn't only unique in its Cultureand Tradition, but the Buildings and Architecture really are Beautiful. I do applaud the Chinese Government for making it a World Heritage site. The village comes alive at Night with its specially made Lighting. The Night lighting scene can only be describe in one word ... '' Spectacular '' !! Its a '' Must See '' itinerary if you're in Fenghuang. So, make sure you stay overnight when you're here. Whether day or night , the village will have your shutter finger busy ...Ha,Ha. Have a look at the pics yourself and be amazed just like I did the moment I saw it ... Far Out !! The Beautiful and Colourful Fenghuang by Day !!

At night, the whole village comes alive with those dazzling lights which are installed in almost every house along the River. I have seen some amazing display of lights , but to do it on this scale on an Ancient village is simplyspectacularto say the least. This village along with Zhangjiajie Mountains is must see if you're in this part of China.

The incredible Night Lights of Fenghuang Village ... !!

And here below are Three '' S ''Composition for all of you who are new to world of '' Photo Saloon ''. This Three were converted to Fujichrome '' Velvia '' for the Greenish look. In Old school terms it means that your pic is '' Filled '' besides, those Curves are easy on the eyes. Go and do a Google on the subject of '' S '' composition ... Those were the days my friend !!

How much more can one ask for ? ...Its simply mind boggling and stuff like that can only be seen and done down here in China ... Tai Mei Leh !! I have morethan 300 + pics on the night scenes alone and there is simply no room for me to post it here. But This are some of the best that I can pick, so, just relax and enjoy the view ... Gosh !!

Next the capital of Hunan province itself ... Changsa. Most of the pics here were shot with my iPhone 4s as I ran out of batteries for my EM-5. Please have grace in this pics as the weather was Hazy and Cold.

Here are two Panorama shot with my iPhone 4s... A bit Hazy and cold, not a good day for Photography !!

Now for the final of the series and that's ... '' The Folks of Hunan, taken from the various places that I visited while in Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang and Changsa. This Folks really are a Hardworking and Practical Lot , whose only concerns are where the next meal are coming from. They live a simple life of contentment and simplicity. For most of them its a matter of '' Needs '' rather than '' Wants ''.

Wow !! ... Another record breaking post for me. Well, I guess its a challenge for me at this ageto keep up with the pace of this high tech world . It took me four weeks ( During the night ), to sort out those whooping 1k + of pics. All of the pics were shot in Olympus famous jpegs and this time I made a mistake of setting to the '' Small '' jpeg size .....Deng !!Most of the pics waren't even edited, they were downsized and some with my signature added. You're all welcome to download any pics above for personal use only ... O.K. !!

I won't be commenting on the EM-5 , as by now most of you would have owned or even sold yours already ...Ha,Ha!! Since its launch there were a few below and top of the line OMD cameras from Oly. But the next one ..... '' The EM-5 mkII '' will be interesting. I 'll see whether I can get some info and may just leak some titbits out to you all ... Yee Haa !!

As always, please take grace in any mistake that I may have made, as I am truly a slow typist and one prone to errors. Remember to just go out and have fun and snap away. Try not to be Gearhead and be content with whatever that you have. Photography is all about capturing '' That Moment in Time ''and Time waits for no one. For me its a media to express the way I see the world and hence my Blog Title .... '' The World Through My Lens ''.

Take care and thanks for being here and for keeping my spirit in Photography Alive ... Cheers !! May Peace be with you all ... ''OM SHANTI, SHANTI ''.